More than 380,000 patients waited more than 12 hours in A&E last year, new figures show, amid claims ‘misleading’ public data masks the true scale of the problem.
A Royal College of Emergency Medicine report shows 381,991 people across 74 NHS trusts waited half a day or longer from the time they arrived at hospital in 2021.
The figures are 14 times higher than the official numbers published by the NHS – which say 25,553 people waited more than 12 hours during the same period at the same trusts – due to the different ways waiting times are measured.
While NHS England publishes data every month, it only shows how long patients have waited after a decision by doctors to admit them. Experts claim this is misleading and have called for the NHS to publish the figures from point of arrival instead.
It comes after The Independent revealed leaked data in May, showing that more than 3,000 patients a day were regularly facing 12-hour waits in the first four months of 2022.
Dr Adrian Boyle, RCEM vice president, said the new figures were “staggering” and “make clear that measuring 12-hour waits from decision to admit masks the reality facing patients and staff.
“Clearly, it is misleading to measure 12-hour waits in this way, and it is detrimental to staff efforts to improve A&E waiting times,” he said.
“NHS England have previously promised to make 12-hour data measured from time of arrival in the emergency department, and publish it alongside monthly NHS performance figures.
“We are still waiting for them to fulfil their promise. We recently wrote to Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, about this, questioning why the data has not yet been published and when it will be. We have not received a response.
“Until it is published the NHS cannot hope to drive meaningful change and improvement in emergency care. Publishing this data will bring about greater accountability, and help all stakeholders understand the extent of crowding, long stays and corridor care.”
“NHS England must publish 12-hour data from time of arrival as a matter of urgency, this is the first step towards meaningfully tackling this crisis.”
He said the college fears the crisis in A&E is either being “ignored” or “inadvertently misunderstood” by the government.
NHS England did not answer when questioned by The Independent about whether it could commit to publishing the hidden data.
The report follows research from the RCEM warning the NHS needs to open 13,000 staffed beds to improve the situation across the health service.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health and social care secretary, said: “As the culture secretary admitted, a decade of Conservative mismanagement left the NHS ‘wanting and inadequate’ when Covid hit and now patients are paying the price.
“The Conservatives’ response to the crisis in A&E is to scrap the zero tolerance for waits of more than 12 hours. Twenty-four hours in A&E isn’t just a TV programme, it’s the government’s policy.”
Research published in the Emergency Medicine Journal in January says that one person will die for every 82 patients delayed by 6 to 8 hours in A&E.
Director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers Miriam Deakin said: “The harsh reality of staff shortages, an underfunded social care system and a fragile domiciliary care market means the system remains under pressure.
“We need an urgent and emergency care strategy that looks at pressures beyond hospitals and incorporates, where appropriate, changes set out in the clinically-led review of standards.”
